you spin me round, round, baby, round, round



Only a photo to share today. Back to feeling overwhelmed and like I will never be able to write (aka, truly reflect on my life) again. I guess that's what retirement is for. lol. Happy belated birthday wishes to Aunt Jenny and Nanny Mel, and happy anniversary to our good friends Jill and Brian who celebrated 6 years on Sunday ;-)

Got my new Canon 40D today (can I get a woop, woop?), so I am looking forward to taking my photography skills to the next level. I hope. I'm tackling full manual mode next. I wonder if I can do that and bite my nails at the same time?

And, just for the record, and in the event Eli reads this blog one day, he was almost entirely an absolute dream of a child today. And, yes, I fully expect to pay for it tomorrow.

hydrangeas

faith

faith
Originally uploaded by {eli's mommy/jen}

The kid's got moves.

Happy Friday, y'all.

boy of summer

WWOD?

Well, let me first say that I have wanted to do a post about my love-hate relationship with Oprah for a VERY long time, but as these things go, I just never did. Until now.

There is an undeniable paradox that exists in the fact that I find Oprah supremely annoying most of the time; however, I am drawn like a moth to every flaming product she endorses. And her books, gawd, the books. I mean, I am currently reading Eckhart Tolle's book A New Earth, if that doesn't speak volumes about my intrigue for Oprah. (Just as a side note, Eckhart is not like all the other kids, folks. I'm just sayin'.) And I still have yet to buy the bra that she swears will change your life, but don't think I've given up on getting that puppy. And don't think for one Chicago minute that I wouldn't be doing a happy jive if I was ever able to get tickets to her show.

But, oh, how she annoys me so. Like when one day she chronicles Lisa Ling's expose on puppy mills or the progress of her school for girls in Africa, and then the next she has Colin Cowie sipping a dirty martini on her stage while talking about how the shamelessly wealthy plan parties -- AND...AND, how you can, too. Except you will have to catch the K-Mart special on wine glasses and placemats to be able to afford for your guests to eat hot dogs.

To be honest, I don't even watch her show anymore, because I just don't have the damn time. But I think about it. Incessantly. And wonder if Nate will be doing another design show soon or if Gayle and Oprah will ever take another road trip. Or if Stedman and the dogs will ever be live guests on the show. Or if Dr. Robin will ever tell Oprah to shut the goddamn hell up when she interjects during every intervention Dr. Robin tries to do. Because, ahem, we all know that Oprah is a psychologist and a direct descendent of Jesus Christ.

And I wonder if Oprah *really* reads all of the books in her book club?

Okay, so anyway, I was so thrilled when my husband called on his way home from work today to tell me that I must listen to THIS interview that he had just heard on NPR's radio program All Things Considered.

I won't say a whole lot because I want you to go and listen for yourself (it's only about 5 minutes), but I will say that I'm kicking myself (with a heavy shoe on my foot) for not thinking of this idea myself.

It's brilliance, pure and simple.

Robyn (a.k.a. LO), the actress behind the social experiment called Living Oprah, also has a blog, www.livingoprah.com, where she chronicles her year of living according to all of Oprah's recommendations for 'living your best life."

I will also say that Robyn (no relation, apparently, to Dr. Robin) is not out to bash Oprah, and really, neither am I. I mean, she does do a lot of good, even if she does have to tell everybody about it and does own, like, um 10 houses or something.

The most important part, and perhaps entire purpose, of the experiment, according to Robyn, is to try to make people aware of the influences that work upon us everyday, particularly from celebrities and the media, and to make us think about what really informs (and what should inform) the daily choices we make.

Amen, sista.

weekend warriors

This weekend we were rock stars. We did all of our around-the-house chores on Friday, headed to Dewey Beach for the day Saturday, then decided on a whim to go fishing on Sunday. And to top it all off, we drank mojitos and grilled pizza Sunday evening. I will be posting the pizza recipe soon because it was tasty AND low-fat!

Anyway, here's our big fish in action:

a resurrection may be coming after all

So, tonight, as I am helping Eli brush his teeth and potty in preparation for bedtime stories, he walks to the edge of the stairs and says:

"Taunnn (rhymes with Shaun), do me a favor,"

just as serious as a brain surgeon would say, "Scalpel," and as I almost died from acute, insane laughter, Shaun came half-way up the stairs to see what our 40-year-old son needed, and then Eli proceeded to do a half-shuffle from one end of the hallway to the other, mumbling something, which I guess was the favor he needed, although we couldn't quite make it out. And then he just smiled and chuckled to himself.

Ha! Ha!

I may very well have found something to get me blogging again. Between this and his announcement in Lowe's last weekend that he had to make a 'number 3' on the potty, I could have blog fodder for the rest of 2008. We'll see.

dearest blog,

i shall return to you one day when my life is less chaotic.

(and stop laughing, all of you who say it will never be so).

i now have joined the facebook masses, so you may find me there more these days, beause somehow, it is less intimidating, and, of course, i'm always posting lots of new pics to flickr, and, if you still can't find me, i've been updating the photog blog here.

hope all of your summers have been filled thus far with lots of white wine, grilling out, and privacy fences, the latter of which we would like if anyone wants to get us one.

we are headed to the beach this weekend, so i'll have lots of pics to share, i'm sure.

xxoo,
me

home run



Doesn't it look like he is sliding into home base?

We ventured out to Assateage Park on Wednesday and hung at the beach for a few hours. He loved the sand but not the water. Maybe because it was ICE COLD. Yep, even in June, people. ICE COLD.

Much more news and many more photos to come...SOON, once I learn how to...ahem...blog again.

Cheerio.

wanna see some hot mommas...?

...and a new killer photography location right down the street from me???

Go here.

We've had a ton of out-of-town visitors lately, as well as lots of other things keeping us busy, so this blog is suffering big time, but I shall return when I find my head and reattach it.

Hope all is well for everyone.

Cheers.

get outta my face, and i mean it



My sister is here visiting right now, and all I wanted today was a nice photo of Eli with her, and, hey, I got it. I even posted it extra large for you to see.

Right.

Toddlers.

Hmph.

what ever will I do with them?



We're just getting back today from a couple days in Norfolk, VA, where I attended a photography workshop (more about that later). The workshop was great, but we are glad to be back in out own digs, and I am exhausted as the workshop lasted until about 1 am this morning. Here's our backseat passenger on the way home today. We had an hour or so of a detour because the main roads were blocked due to a domestic shooting (murder, actually) not far from where we live, and we all had to pee without a bathroom in site for miles. And Eli held it all the way home. The kid deserves extra ice cream or something for that.

you must make this soup...now

I love soup. Even more, I love making soup. It brings me such joy. Probably because it's all one gobbly-goopy mess anyway, so I don't have to worry much about precision, that is, cutting and chopping things just so. Making soup suits the messy side of my personality just perfectly. Anyway, enough of the introduction. Here is one of my favorites, which I have been meaning to share here for a while now, just like everything else in my head. This one's easy, though; the rest of the head stuff will take a while to sort out into blogs. But stay tuned because those will be fun to read, of course.

Anyway, I digress. This soup, my friends, is creamy-schmemy goodness down to the last scraping of the spoon -- or licking of the bowl, whichever strikes your fancy. It's from Jamie Oliver's (aka, The Naked Chef) cookbook, which was given to us as a gift by Shaun's sister Liz several Christmases ago. You'll be happy to know, Liz, that the soup has become a family favorite. And Jean and Jill, it is only 4 Weight Watchers points per serving. Can I get a 'woop, woop?'

Okay, seriously, here is the recipe:

Serves 6

12 oz chickpeas, soaked overnight (for moms of 2-year-olds, I recommend using the canned variety, which is much quicker and doesn't involve the possible risk of spilled dried chickpeas all over the kitchen floor)
1 medium potato, peeled (I sometimes skip this)
5 medium leeks (leeks are so yummy; they look like a giant green onion and taste like one too)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter (I use low fat if I'm being good ;-))
2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock (I use chicken)
Parmesan cheese, grated (again, low fat if you want it to be lighter)

How to create a warm and fuzzy bowl-o-goodness:

Rinse the soaked chickpeas, cover with water, and cook with potato until tender. (Again, I suggest using canned chickpeas and even skipping the potato...it's faster). Remove the outer skin of the leeks, slice lengthways from the root up, wash carefully and slice finely.

Warm a thick-bottomed pan, and add the oil and butter. Add the leeks and garlic to the pan,and cook gently with a good pinch of salt until tender and sweet. Add the drained chickpeas and potato and cook for 1 minute. Add about 2/3 of the stock and simmer for 15 minutes.

Now big decision, people. Huge. Life-changing: Decide if you want to puree the soup in some sort of processor (I usually just mash some of it by hand with a potato masher or you could use a hand blender instead of toting out the processor, you know) -- whether you want to leave it chunky and brothy. Jamie says his preference is to puree half and leave the other half whole. And I like Jamie, so I do what he does. Now, add enough remaining stock to achieve the consistency you like. Check for seasoning, and add Parmesan to tast to round off the flavors.

I'm telling you, you will love it. It's not a cream-based soup, but the chickpeas are so hearty that it almosts tastes like one. Anyway, go forth and make soup and leave your comments/reviews here...but only if they're positive, because my heart would really be broken if you didn't like it.

Seriously.


Well, kind of.

apparently, he doesn't want to know the secret as much as we do

apparently, he doesn't want to know the secret as much as we do
Originally uploaded by {eli's mommy/jen}

So, here is your long-anticipated video clip, Aunt Jenny.

My absolute favorite part is the first 2 seconds.
My next favorite part is my feigned enthusiasm when I say, "Hurry, you're going to miss the secret."
Then, of course, there are the freshly washed wine glasses. And you know why.

I should also say, this was taken a few weeks ago, and as I recall, we were very tired, as I think you can tell.

And, yes, I think Eli may have needed to potty (you know what I mean) -- perhaps the reason why he was not interested in the secret.

bird droppings and the secrets of the universe



Love your life (even though you don't have a dishwasher). This is my meditation as I try to erase dinner from two nights ago off our slow cooker while Eli does a figure-8 of some sort between my legs.

I am convinced that the secrets of the universe will be uncovered by one extremely, perhaps manically, organized individual. I bet Jesus, the Buddha, Ghandi, Bill Gates, and Ryan Seacrest were/are all very organized people. I mean, think about it. The Last Supper? That was one hell of a dinner party to pull off -- even with only one type of carbohydrate and alcohol as the main course. And commentating American Idol, I mean, come on, people. That takes skills.

I will never know the secrets of the universe, because, a truly organized mind is just not in my genetic code. But, oh, how I try. Like today, for instance. I did all these things:

Woke up, with Eli in tow;
Made coffee and sandwich for husband;
Scarfed a Fiber One bar while child watched morning television while eating bananna;
Drank said coffee;
Did photography work on computer while child watched more morning television;
Prepared gourmet lunch of turkey in pita bread for self and child;
Sat and ate lunch with child;
Answered lots of questions while eating said pita;
Took said child outside to play;
Decided to weed an overgrown flower bed;
Watered flowers and vegetable garden;
Cleared other rocks and weeds from behind house;
Kicked ball with child;
Swang (swung?) with child;
Held garden hose while child ran under and around it with endless fascination;
Pondered dirty dishes in sink;
Hung bed sheets on clothes line to dry;
Lured child inside to take nap with promise of cool pop;
Started cleaning kitchen and re-organizing pantry while child (miraculously) fell asleep on the floor eating said cool pop;
Transferred child to sofa;
Continued in kitchen;
Completed pantry;
Cooked dinner;
Fed self and child;
Called husband to say 'you can come home now';
Said to child, "No more cool pops or banannas until you eat more of your dinner."
Greeted husband at door with toy steering wheel in hand. Don't ask.

I was feeling smug.

I had accomplished so much today.

Then, as we headed out for an evening walk, a bird crapped on my head.

I give up.

into the wild



We're going on a bear hunt;
...we're not scared.

::

Aunt Jenny, I found my wires, so your video is coming soon!

And, yes, people, I know he will kill me one day for all the potty pics. But I'm okay with that ;-)

no comment



So, one of my fave photography sites, Shutter Sisters (linked here), is starting something new and adding a 'no comment' section, where bloggers will post a photo(s) that really and truly require no explanation.

Here is my first contribution...

peonies



More about these later, but I just wanted to post one of the many photos I took today. Aren't they just lovely?